1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to computer networking and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for a home area network middleware interface.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the advent of affordable wireless technology, home network environments have become inexpensive and ubiquitous. Manufacturers have recognized the potential benefits of this connectivity and many common household devices are retrofitted with wireless transmitters and receivers for the purpose of home automation. Some of these benefits include appliances that monitor and report their energy consumption to a central server to provide “smart” energy, lights, appliances, and thermostats that respond to changing environmental conditions or set programmed profiles, fingerprint locking mechanisms for home security systems, and the like.
One common method for wireless network communication over computer networks is TCP/IP using the 802.11 series of standards. However, this communications protocol is often unsuitable for the purposes of home automation and integration due to the cost of equipment and the programming overhead in implementing a functional TCP/IP stack on a comparatively low powered device. As such, manufacturers have recognized the potential benefits of other protocols such as IrDA, Bluetooth, UWB, and ZigBee, such as lower power consumption, easier configuration, mesh network capabilities, and the like.
Configuring these devices to interface with a home network can be problematic. The driver programs responsible for automating and integrating the household devices commonly execute on personal computers or other devices having substantial computing power that facilitates communication over TCP/IP. Such computing platforms allow the driver program to send and receive data from the Internet, providing benefits such as access for remote users or the ability to upload data to a central server. The execution of the TCP/IP stack is commonly provided by the operating system or network device driver. In order for the driver program to communicate with the remote devices, the driver must execute an additional protocol stack to transmit in the proper protocol. This may result in significant programming overhead and a need for substantial computing capability. It would be advantageous for the driver program to communicate with the household devices in a platform independent manner while requiring little extra computing capability.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for providing a platform independent interface to remote household devices.